Home Owner Insurance

How To Get The Lowest Price On Your
Home Owner Insurance.

Here are 10 ways to save the most money on your home owner insurance. Remember, every dollar saved is a dollar more that you get to keep.

1. Shop Around

By comparing quotes you could save a tidy amount  of money. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (www.naic.org) has information to help you choose an insurer in your state, including complaints. States often make information available on typical rates charged by major insurers and many states provide the frequency of consumer complaints by company. For the best rates on home owner insurance, we suggest the free comparison services of Direct Insure Online. Get multiple home insurance quotes within a couple of minutes by submitting one simple online form.

Also check consumer guides, insurance agents, companies and online insurance quote services. This will give you an idea of price ranges and tell you which companies have the lowest prices. But don't consider price alone. The insurer you select should offer a fair price and deliver the quality service you would expect if you needed assistance in filing a claim. So in assessing service quality, use the complaint information cited above and talk to a number of insurers to get a feeling for the type of service they give. Ask them what they would do to lower your costs.

Check the financial stability of the companies you are considering with rating companies such as A.M. Best (www.ambest.com) and Standard & Poor’s (www.standardandpoors.com) and consult consumer magazines.

2. Raise Your Deductible

Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim, according to the terms of your policy. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premiums. Nowadays, most insurance companies recommend a deductible of at least $500. If you can afford to raise your deductible to $1,000, you may save as much as 25 percent. Take the saving and open a bank account. Within a couple of years you will have saved the deductible. From that point on, you'll be able to pocket the savings.

3. Don’t confuse what you paid for your house with rebuilding costs

The land under your house isn't at risk from theft, windstorm, fire and the other perils covered in your homeowners policy. It will always remain, regardless of the calamity. So don't include its value in deciding how much homeowners insurance to buy. If you do, you will pay a higher premium than you need to.

4. Buy your home and auto policies from the same insurer

Some companies that sell homeowners, auto and liability coverage will take 5 to 15 percent off your premium if you buy two or more policies from them. However, make certain this combined price is lower than buying the different coverages from different companies.

5. Make your home more disaster resistant

Find out from your insurance agent or company representative what steps you can take to make your home more resistant to windstorms and other natural disasters. You might be able to save on your premiums by adding items such as storm shutters, reinforcing your roof or buying more durable roofing materials. Also, consider modernizing your heating, plumbing and electrical systems to reduce the risk of fire and water damage.

6. Improve your home security

You can usually get discounts of at least 5 percent for a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt locks. Some companies offer to cut your premium by as much as 15 or 20 percent if you install a sophisticated home security system. While the typical cost of sophisticated, 24 hour monitored home security systems is $30 to $40 per month, you can often save that much on you home owner insurance reducing your net out of pocket cost to zero. Additionally, you'll gain added security and a great deal of peace of mind. Our favorite interactive wireless security systems are provided by Protect America. With their silver program you receive a state of the art Talking Control Panel, equipment to protect 10 Entry Points, an Internal Siren and Door Chime, Battery Backup, One Button Arming, 3 Window Decals, and 1 Yard Sign.

7. Seek out other discounts

Companies offer several types of discounts, but they don't all offer the same discount or the same amount of discount in all states. For example, since retired people stay at home more than working people they are less likely to be burglarized and may spot fires sooner, too. Retired people also have more time for maintaining their homes. If you're at least 55 years old and retired, you may qualify for a discount of up to 10 percent at some companies. Some employers and professional associations administer group insurance programs that may offer a better deal than you can get elsewhere.

8. Maintain a good credit record

Establishing a solid credit history can cut your insurance costs. Insurers are increasingly using credit information to price homeowners insurance policies. In most states, your insurer must advise you of any adverse action resulting from items contained in your credit report, such as a higher rate, at which time you should verify the accuracy of the information on which the insurer relied. For more information on developing a high credit score, consider the free credit repair kit.

9. Stay with the same insurer

If you've kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may receive a special discount for being a long-term policyholder. Some insurers will reduce their premiums by 5 percent if you stay with them for three to five years and by 10 percent if you remain a policyholder for six years or more. But make certain to periodically compare this price with that of other policies.


10. When you’re buying a home, consider the cost of homeowners insurance

You may pay less for insurance if you buy a house close to a fire hydrant or in a community that has a professional rather than a volunteer fire department. It may also be cheaper if your home’s electrical, heating and plumbing systems are less than 10 years old. Choosing wisely could cut your premiums by 6 to 20 percent.

Remember that flood insurance and earthquake damage are not covered by a standard homeowners policy. If you buy a house in a flood-prone area, you'll have to pay for a flood insurance policy that costs an average of $400 a year. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides useful information on flood insurance on its Web site at FloodSmart.gov. A separate earthquake policy is available from most insurance companies. The cost of the coverage will depend on the likelihood of earthquakes in your area. In California the California Earthquake Authority (www.earthquakeauthority.com) provides this coverage.

If you have questions about insurance for any of your possessions, be sure to ask your agent or company representative when you're shopping around for a policy.  Although you want to lower your home owner insurance cost to the bare minimum to save the most money, you also want to make certain you have all the coverage you need in the unfortunate event that something tragic happens.
  

See Also:

Chicago Home Insurance

Los Angeles Home Insurance